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Summary: The federal government has announced stricter measures to curb malpractice in the upcoming national examinations. This directive is to strengthen credibility and transparency in the country’s assessment system.
The Federal Government has announced stricter measures to curb malpractices in the 2026 West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations. This move is part of the country’s ongoing efforts to strengthen credibility, transparency, and restore the public confidence in the assessment system.
This directive was disclosed in a statement issued on January 5, 2026 by Ms. Folasade Boriowo, the Ministry’s Director, press and public relations. The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, CON, alongside the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmed, stated that the Federal Ministry of Education is intensifying oversight and deploying targeted strategies to safeguard the integrity of national examinations.
A major measure of this new policy is the introduction of enhanced question randomisation and serialisation mechanisms. This means all candidates will answer the same examination questions, but the sequence and arrangement will be different for each candidate. This ensures that every student has a unique version of the examination question, thereby significantly reducing opportunities for collusion and malpractice.
The Ministry also reaffirmed that the policy stops the transfer of students at the Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) level, preventing last-minute school changes often associated with examination malpractice. Also, a unique examination learners’ identity number will be introduced to track candidates throughout the examination period. This will enable effective monitoring and accountability and also support long-term reforms in assessment, certification, and data management.
Furthermore, the ministry assured stakeholders that the upcoming national examinations will be conducted under strengthened supervision and coordination, ensuring that relevant examination bodies adhere strictly to the established guidelines and ethical standards.
